& Friends on Technology Policy

Mobile Patent Wars Panel – 10/16

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt called the patent battle between Google and Apple the “defining fight” of the mobile industry. If you want to know more about the implications of this fight, you’re in luck.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Congressional Internet Caucus will host a panel on the topic of whether patents will stifle innovation in the mobile and tablet device markets. Panelists include USA Today’s Rob Pegoraro, George Mason University law professor Adam Mossoff, American University law professor Jorge Contreras, and Marvin Ammori. The event will be moderated by the Caucus Advisory Committee’s Eric Hinkes.

The panel kicks off at noon in the Rayburn House Office building, Room 2226. You can RSVP here.

And here is more information about the event:

You have seen the headlines: Patent litigation continues to roil the exploding smartphone and tablet marketplace with consumers literally caught in the crossfire. Recent high profile smartphone court cases have consumers and policymakers deeply troubled that courts will strangle the incredible pace of mobile innovation and competition. Recent litigation between leading smartphone manufacturers has also caught the attention of Congressional members. The number of smartphone patent lawsuits in multiple countries and jurisdictions around the globe is dizzying and could threaten to keep the best new mobile phones off the market. How will the public be affected by these lawsuits as new mobile devices continue to rollout? Will a competitor force your favorite mobile device off the market?

A diverse set of panelists will tackle important questions including: 1) Can mobile device companies simply innovate around these intellectual property disputes?; 2) Are these constant lawsuits just the natural byproduct of rapid innovation?; 3) Must Congress step in with legislation? The panel will also debate the impact of the recently passed America Invents Act on the smartphone litigation inferno and share their thoughts on what patent issues lie on the horizon in the competitive mobile device space.

At the 2012 State of the Net Conference in January, the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee facilitated a dynamic discussion on this emerging issue between stakeholders by hosting a focused panel discussion(“Patent Warfare: Will Your Next Smartphone Get Caught in The Crossfire?”) on the then-recently enacted America Invents Act, which sought to reform the nation’s patent laws for the first time in nearly 60 years. Since this panel was convened, the potential effect on innovation has only become more critical, as companies continue spending billions of dollars to acquire massive portfolios of patents through mergers and acquisitions.